Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet dt-packet.md (1 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. — real identity: NONE as a US Navy vessel — served as USS ATR-89; sold
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-atr-89-atr89-pkt-dt-packet-md
-
[2]Shipscribe.com, USS ATR-1 class page - transcription of official Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels / Register of Ships construction and disposition tables and ship notes; ShipbuildingHistory, Burger Boat yard table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Construction table row 89 (Ord. 3 May 43 / Burger Boat / Keel 28 Aug 43 / Launch 27 May 44 / Commiss. 12 Oct 44); Disposition table row 89 (Decomm. 21 May 46 / Strike 8 Oct 46 / Disposal 25 Apr 47 / MC-D / MA Sale 25 Apr 47); Ship Notes row 89; http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/yachtlarge/burger.htm row 'ATR 89'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy register data for ATR-89: ordered 1943-05-03; built by Burger Boat, Manitowoc, WI; keel laid 1943-08-28; launched 1944-05-27; commissioned 1944-10-12; decommissioned 1946-05-21; struck from the Naval Register 1946-10-08; Maritime Commission disposal 1947-04-25 (fate MC/D, MA sale 1947-04-25). Ship note: 'Sold (delivered) by MC to Paul E. Duffe, Harry B. Merner, and John H. Simpson, Jacksonville, Fla. Merc. HILA 1948, off list 1954, sold for scrap 1959, still derelict Staten Island.' ShipbuildingHistory's Burger yard table independently records ATR-89 as an 850-ton, 165-ft tug delivered Sep 1944, 'Sold 1947 as Hila, derelict Staten Island.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1959
- Limitations
- Shipscribe is a transcription project of official Navy register/Ships' Data publications, not the register scan itself; corroborated for commissioning by NARA deck-log coverage beginning 1944-10-12 (ev-03) and for launch by the Manitowoc County Historical Society photo record (ev-04). Decommissioning location and the mechanics of the 1954 off-listing/1959 scrap-sale are not given. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-01
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[3]NavSource Naval History, USS ATR-89 page (Service Ship Photo Archive, Rescue Tug index 40089) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page header narrative, awards line, Specifications block, and photo caption credits
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service record for USS ATR-89: call sign NHVH; commissioned 1944-10-12 with LT. M. W. Thomas in command; displayed awards American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal (no theater campaign ribbon); sold for merchant service in 1947 to Mutual Ocean Transportation Co., Jacksonville, FL, named Hila; final disposition 'abandoned, circa 2000s at Witte Yard, Staten Island, N.Y., a ship and boat graveyard.' Photographs include launch preparation 1944-05-24 and commissioning 1944-10-12 at Burger Boat, and a builder's photo of the tug underway in the Great Lakes 1944-09-19; credited in part to a contributor honoring his father, CBM Henry M. Jinkens USN (Ret), USS ATR-89. Specification block: 852 t light / 1,360 t full, 703 grt; 165'6" x 33'4" x 15'10"; 12.2 kts; one Prescott Co. vertical triple-expansion engine, two Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers 200 psi saturated, two 60 kW turbo-drive DC ship's service generators, single propeller 1,600 shp; armament 1x3"/50 DP, 2x20mm; largest boom capacity 4 t; complement 5 officers + 47 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-1947 (Navy); 1947-~2010s (merchant/derelict)
- Population
- Ship's company, WWII service (theater not stated)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive; the page lists decommissioned/struck dates as 'unknown' - the register dates (ev-01) supply them. Spec-block machinery fit (Prescott engine, Foster Wheeler boilers) differs from sister-hull blocks (e.g., ATR-63's Fulton/B&W), consistent with per-hull small-shop sourcing, but is stated without a citation on the page. 'Mutual Ocean Transportation Co.' vs the register's three named individuals is treated as consistent (principals), not a conflict; 'circa 2000s' abandonment is looser than the register's derelict-at-Staten-Island note. No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-02
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[4]National Archives, 'Special List #44, by Ship Numbers' - inventory of U.S. Navy deck logs in NARA custody [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF p.11, 'ATR-89 10/12/1944 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 (deck-log inventory by ship number) lists USS ATR-89 deck logs covering 1944-10-12 through 1945-06-30 - commissioning through nearly the end of WWII. Logs are paper custody, not digitized; no coverage for 1945-07-01 through 1946-05-21 (decommissioning) appears in the list.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944-10-12 to 1945-06-30 (coverage window)
- Limitations
- Inventory entry only - logs were not retrieved or read; their content (movements, operations, conditions) is unexamined. Custody start date independently corroborates the 1944-10-12 commissioning (ev-01). Post-June-1945 logs are not in this list - location unknown. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-03
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[5]UW-Madison Libraries Digital Collections / Manitowoc County Historical Society, 'The Home Front: Manitowoc County in World War II' - Burger Collection PF 40, item .108 [museum_official]
- Locator
- Digital record AH3KMG4L6WG57386 / permalink 1711.dl/H3KMG4L6WG57386, Summary field
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- University of Wisconsin Digital Collections hosts a Manitowoc County Historical Society photograph, 'ATR-89 before launching' (1944-05-27), described as a 3/4 starboard bow view of Navy rescue tug ATR-89 on the ways at Burger Boat Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, just prior to side-launching into the Manitowoc River; the catalog summary states ATR-89 was the second of two wooden-hulled rescue tugs built for the Navy by Burger Boat Company during WWII and that these rescue tugs were the largest craft built at Burger up to that time.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Burger Boat Company construction trades (Manitowoc, 1943-44)
- Limitations
- Institutional archival-catalog record; corroborates builder, yard location, launch date, and hull type. Summary text accessed via the catalog record; no construction materials detail beyond 'wooden-hulled.' Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-04
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[6]Shipscribe ATR-1 class notes (quoting BuShips-CNO correspondence of 1941-1943); NHHC DANFS, Narraguagas (AOG-32) - TU 30.9.23 composition [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class Notes paragraphs (BuShips letter, program directives, wooden-hull rationale, Alden attribution); https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/n/narraguagas.html June 1945 passage
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ATR-1 class design/procurement context: BuShips' 1941-09-12 letter to CNO argued the need for rescue tugs to tow disabled vessels; CNO directed ATR 1-40 construction 1942-01-19 under the Maximum War Effort (1799-Vessel) Program and VCNO directed ATR 50-89 on 1942-08-05 - making ATR-89 the last hull of the eighty-boat wooden class. To avoid competing with steel combatant construction the Navy built the type with wooden hulls and simple triple-expansion steam machinery, letting small shipyards and local machine shops do the work; one source attributes the design to the John G. Alden firm. Sister-ship employment context: NHHC's DANFS entry for Narraguagas (AOG-32) places rescue tugs ATR-38 and ATR-62 in towing unit TU 30.9.23 in the Okinawa operation, June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- ATR-1 class crews; shipyard trades at small wooden-ship builders (class context)
- Limitations
- Class/program-level documentation - establishes design intent and sister-ship employment, not this hull's operations; ATR-89 carries no documented theater assignment. The Alden design attribution is hedged by the source itself ('one source indicates'). The Okinawa citation names ATR-38 and ATR-62, not ATR-89. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-05
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[7]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); applied to the NavSource-documented plant configuration [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, WWII shipbuilding asbestos-use documentation; NavSource spec block for plant configuration
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era-level documentation: asbestos was used extensively as insulating and fireproofing material in U.S. WWII shipbuilding. Applied to this hull only as inference: a 1944-vintage steam plant (two Foster Wheeler 'D'-type boilers, Prescott vertical triple-expansion engine, single screw) is consistent with period asbestos applications - boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, flange/valve gaskets, machinery packing, brake linings on towing and anchor machinery, and accommodation-space insulation. The class's wooden hull removes the structural-steel fireproofing a steel ship would carry.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Burger Boat Company construction trades (Manitowoc, 1943-44); engine-room and deck crew, 1944-46
- Limitations
- Program/era scholarship applied to a class-typical plant - no source names this hull's actual outfit; no survey, drawing, or contract for ATR-89 was located. Does not establish that asbestos was aboard, its quantity, location, condition, or any individual exposure; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-06
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[8]CourtListener API v4 searches, 2026-09-26: type=o "ATR-89" (count 0); type=r "ATR-89" (count 1: Allen v. Martin Surfacing, Inc., 4:05-cv-40048, Doc. 57-5); docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4281629/allen-v-martin-surfacing-inc/ [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-89-atr89-08, -09, -10; recap doc gov.uscourts.mad.96971.57.0.pdf (snippet shows 'Document 57-5 ... Page 1 of 25' caption only)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweeps (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-26): 'ATR-89' in the opinion index - 0 hits; 'ATR-89' in the RECAP docket index - 1 hit. The single docket hit is Allen v. Martin Surfacing, Inc., D. Mass. 4:05-cv-40048 (filed 2005-03-16, terminated 2009-09-30, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, diversity, nature-of-suit 360 Other personal liability): the string 'ATR-89' appears inside Document 57-5 (filed 2007-11-01), a 25-page exhibit attached to a defense motion for summary judgment. The exhibit's internal context was not retrieved - 'ATR-89' may be a vessel reference in a work-history/exposure list or a production/Bates-style identifier; the match alone does not establish that the ship was named as an exposure site. No qualifying asbestos opinion or docket naming the vessel was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Classified at the least-final stage: a string match inside a discovery exhibit is below even a pleading allegation - its context (vessel list vs. document identifier) is unverified, and it is not a judicial finding of exposure or causation. CourtListener indexes do not cover all federal/state dockets or unreported matters; one ambiguous docket-string match means no located qualifying case, not proof no claim was ever filed. PACER was not searched (no spend authorized); the exhibit PDF was not retrievable through the authenticated helper (JSON endpoints only).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-07
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[9]New York Times, 'A Lesson In History Of Old Ships,' 1990-12-31; WIRED, 'The Secret NYC Graveyard Where Ships Go to Die,' 2014-07; corroborating photo-logs (tugster.wpcomstaging.com Graveyard 1, 2010-05-03; wikimapia.org/9580229) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NYT regional desk article (excerpt via search - full text paywalled); https://www.wired.com/2014/07/graves-arthur-kill-ship-graveyard/; tugster post identifying 'wooden hull steel deckhouse World War 2-era tug ATR-89 Hila'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The derelict site is independently documented: the Witte Marine Equipment Company yard at Rossville on the Arthur Kill, Staten Island - later the Donjon Iron and Metal Scrap Processing Facility, popularly the 'Tugboat Graveyard'/'Arthur Kill boat graveyard' - was described by the New York Times (1990-12-31) as the city's lone remaining commercial marine-salvage yard and an 'accidental marine museum' then holding some 200 derelict vessels; WIRED (2014) documented the site again at roughly three dozen decaying hulls. Multiple maritime photo-logs (tugster, frogma, Wikimapia pin 'Ex-USS ATR-89') photographed and identified the ex-ATR-89/HILA hulk at the yard circa 2009-2011.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1990-2014 (yard documentation); hull derelict circa 2000s-2011+
- Population
- Salvage-yard workers and site visitors (contemporary)
- Limitations
- Press and community photo documentation establish the yard and the photographic identification of the hulk; they are not official condition records. The hulk's presence rests on NavSource + register note + yard-visitor photography, not a government wreck inventory (NOAA AWOIS is retired; no per-vessel record located). NYT full text not retrievable in this session - excerpted text only. Whether the hulk still exists in 2026 is unverified. No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-08
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[10]Batch-3019 search ledger (this record): Shipscribe register data; NavSource; NARA Special List #44; NHHC DANFS (no entry); NVR (pre-1987 disposals excluded); NavalCoverMuseum; ShipbuildingHistory Burger table; UW Digital Collections/MCHS; CourtListener opinion/docket sweeps; MARAD ShipHistory (blocked); NOAA AWOIS (retired); HyperWar tug list [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-atr-89-atr89-01 through sl-uss-atr-89-atr89-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement or removal contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or government report naming ATR-89/HILA was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Notably, the hull is documented as surviving unabated as a derelict at the Rossville salvage yard into the 2010s - no asbestos remediation of the hulk appears in any located record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 steam tug is era-consistent with ACM in the machinery spaces, and this hull's unabated derelict survival (if it remains extant) means era materials may persist undocumented. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-atr-89-atr89-09